Computer-Assisted Brief Intervention

Four out of five youth in the juvenile justice system show evidence of being under the
influence during their offenses, and over half test positive for substances at the time of
their arrest. Further, 92% of arrested juveniles who tested positive for drugs tested
positive for marijuana. Although some treatment programs for juvenile offenders exist, most
have focused on detained and incarcerated juveniles, who only represent one third of arrested
youth. As a result, little is known about how to improve the continuum of care for the
remaining two-thirds of this population, which consists of court involved but
non-incarcerated youth (CINI). Court recommendations and referrals for CINI have mostly
relied on outside community-based services, thus decreasing the likelihood CINI youth and
their families will take the additional steps to seek intervention. Given that motivational
interventions (MI) are brief, relatively easy to implement and have a greater reach than
typical substance use treatment programs, researchers have recently directed their focus to
interactive, computer-delivered MI protocols to further increase their reach as well as
facilitate their implementation. Online interventions can be delivered at a lower cost, with
less demand on staff time for training, and increased protocol fidelity, portability, and
ease of use. While counselor-delivered MIs for adolescent substance use have been tested
fairly widely, only a few studies have been published on the efficacy of computer-assisted
MIs. Further, little research has focused on the efficacy of such interventions with
marijuana using adolescents in general, and more specifically with CINI adolescents. In
addition, combining such interventions for adolescents with brief parenting interventions is
important but yet rarely implemented. Therefore, this application proposes to examine the
feasibility and acceptability of integrating a computer-assisted,, brief intervention
protocol into the juvenile intake procedures at the Rhode Island Family Court (RIFC) for
marijuana using adolescents and their parents. Following an open trial of the brief protocol,
, 80 adolescents who screen positive for marijuana use at juvenile intake will be recruited
from the RIFC and randomly assigned to one of two conditions: 1) a computer-assisted
adolescent MI plus an online parenting program ; or 2) usual care. Outcomes will be examined
at 3 and 6-month follow-ups. This small trial will provide some initial evidence regarding
utility of this protocol with CINI youth and whether a larger, fully powered trial is
indicated in the future.

Inclusion Criteria:

- teen age 14 to 17, inclusive, living at home with at least one parent/guardian

- teen report of history of marijuana use and a positive brief screen during intake
procedures * parental consent/ child assent; and, 4) one parent willing to participate
in intervention

Exclusion Criteria:

- developmental delay

- teen or parents are not able to adequately speak and understand English or Spanish.